Her entire body hurt, but it was a pleasant kind of ache.
The kind she wouldn’t trade for the world.
When Ashley waved her over, she squeezed her way past the teenagers, who were all sulking in the corner and eyeing the food intently. Amy carried the last of the food out to the dining room table and lingered there. Ashley and Jude materialized at the head of the table, and in the next instant, everyone descended on the food. Platters of mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, and an assortment of meat and chicken in thick, creamy sauces littered every inch of the table, along with several plates of salad.
Someone handed Amy a plate, and she found herself sitting at a table outside with Emily next to her and the grass beneath her feet. Unable to enjoy her food, Amy pushed it around and thought of her own children and how much she wished they were there. Still, a steady stream of conversation continued around her, with Amy only half-listening. Emily kept giving her concerned looks as Lily and Ben joined them at the table.
Eventually, Amy stood to carry her half-eaten plate back inside.
On her way past, she collided with Ruby, Tara’s sullen and pale-faced daughter. Amy’s plate went flying out of her hand, and it fell to the floor with a crash, sending little shards of it in every direction.
Horrified and feeling her stomach twist into tight knots, Amy got down on her hands and knees to collect the pieces, hardly caring they nicked her skin or were drawing blood. Her palms were sweating, and her heart wouldn’t stop hammering uneasily in her chest.
Amy even felt that morning’s breakfast rise to the back of her throat.
She didn’t realize people were looking at her until Lily pulled her to her feet.
Most of the Wilson clan was now openly staring.
There was a ringing in Amy’s ears, and her chest felt tight with worry. As she glanced around, half-expecting to see Eric’s cruel sneer in the sea of faces, Amy only felt worse. She dropped the little pieces of the plate she’d collected, and her hands flew to her mouth. A low choked sound fell from her lips, and Amy darted off down the hallway, pushing her way past people.
The tightness in her chest didn’t ease until she reached her room and slammed the door shut. When Emily poked her head in, brows furrowed in concern, Amy was pacing and struggling to breathe past the fear and panic clawing their way around herchest. With a frown, Emily stepped in and let the door click shut behind her. She crossed over to Amy, took both of her hands in hers, and waited.
Amy didn’t realize she was crying until her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I just…when the plate broke…”
“You reacted on impulse because you were expecting Eric to appear and yell at you.” Emily squeezed Amy’s hands and gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know it’s hard, but you’re going to get through this. It’s just going to take some time.”
Amy blew out a deep, shaky breath. “I thought I was over it already.”
And she desperately wanted to be.
She didn’t want Eric to have any kind of hold on her, especially not here, of all places.
“You need to go easy on yourself,” Emily offered, pausing to give her a kind smile. “And don’t worry about the plate. Do you want to come back out? Everyone is worried about you.”
Reluctantly, Amy allowed Emily to lead her back out. Emily took her to the couch, and the two of them sat down. As soon as they did, they were surrounded by members of the Wilson family, all of them wearing identical expressions of concern. Amy was handed another plate of food, and the tightness in her chest was replaced with a swell of emotion: gratitude and happiness all rolled into one.
Her heart was full, and she felt lighter than she had in years. Almost as if she was floating from one end of the house to the next.
More and more of the knots in her stomach were being replaced by a warm and pleasant unfurling in the center of her stomach.
By the end of the night, she had almost forgotten about the plate incident completely.
Chapter Fourteen
She stopped typing and glanced over her shoulders at the door. Ashley, who was in the middle of the kitchen, chopping up vegetables, gave a similar pause. The two women shared a confused look, then Ashley set down her knife and wiped her hands on a rug. Amy returned her attention back to the screen and tried to resume her train of thought when she heard Lily’s voice.
It was joined by Lucas’s and Sylvie’s agitated voices, making Amy jump to her feet.
Hastily, she staggered to the door, heart twisting uneasily inside of her chest as Ashley ushered the three of them inside. Lily was the first to hold her gaze and offer her an apologetic smile. When Amy looked over at Lucas and Sylvie, the two of them wore identical expressions of confusion and shock—their eyebrows drawn together and faces devoid of color—and their clothing was wrinkled.
They looked like they’d come here straight from the city.
“We’re so sorry to intrude, Aunt Ashley,” Lily began with a quick smile in her aunt’s direction. “Lucas and Sylvie were in town, and we all thought we’d check in. As a surprise.”
Ashley beamed at the three of them. “I don’t mind at all. You’re all welcome here anytime. I was just making a salad and some grilled chicken for lunch. Can I make you anything to eat?”
Lily shook her head. “No, we’re fine.”
